Hurricane Fredrick just about wiped Dauphin Island clean in 79 but the fort stood up like a fort. :) It had never been developed to the point that it had anything much to wash away. All they had to do was dig part of it out of the sand drifts.

I rode down there a couple of weeks ago and it looks about the same as it did when I was a kid. Of course they charge admission now. It was free once upon a time.

D. I. is all residential now with a very small public beach. The hurricane got the hotels and they never rebuilt them. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are whats happening now. Twenty or so miles of hotels and high rise condos.

When you say Fairdale do you mean Fairhope? Now there is one of the finest spots on this planet.